Professor Zilbert Resigns

MIS Department Suffers Second Loss in Two Semesters

In a personal decision, The David H. Zysman Chair of Information Systems Dr. Allen Zilbert submitted his resignation last week effective the end of the fall semester. The resignation letter, handed into the Dean of the Sy Syms School of Business Harold Nierenberg, cited "general reasons" for the resignation.

Professor Zilbert, a man who some faculty members claim ‘lives to teach,’ leaves Yeshiva after years of dedicated service to the students. His hard work led to the establishment of the MIS department as a serious, advanced program. The backbone of the department, Zilbert was aided by former Yeshiva Professor Michael Ross, who left Sy Syms over the summer. "Dr. Zilbert was the most influential MIS professor, both as a teacher and as a mentor. Many who took his classes and Senior Research Paper understand what a great loss this is to the MIS department. We only hope Dr. Fullerton can follow by meeting the students needs and advancing the state of the department," said Dudi Feuer, a MIS major and student of Zilbert’s. The impact of Zilbert’s departure is magnified in light of the resignation of Professor Michael Ross, another favorite among students, who left the business school over the summer. Admittedly, administrators are worried about a lack of experienced personnel in the department in the wake of the resignations.

Students are concerned that no concerted effort was made to inform them of Zilbert’s resignation before registration. Students fear a repeat of the fall semester, when Ross resigned and students who registered for his course were assigned to his replacement.

According to faculty members close with Zilbert, he is likely to teach part time at another institution while serving the private sector as a consultant. Ross, servicing as a consultant, is now one of the nation’s premier experts on Y2K and is sought after by many large companies. Since Zilbert’s expertise is in COBOL programming, and COBOL programming is one of the most sought-after skills in Y2K bug fixing, Zilbert is likely to join Ross in high-level Y2K consulting.

Many students are also concerned that the administration neglected to search for a replacement for Dr. Ross until it was too late. The department did hire an excellent part-time staff member, Rabbi Avi Rosenfeld, who has taught both intro and advanced C++ classes. But while Rosenfeld does cover some classes, administrators are concerned that there is no stability in the department and that a full time professor is needed. Zilbert filled that void, and now that he is leaving, the administration is looking for a replacement.